Surveying system

ABSTRACT

A surveying system for a construction site has a restricted antenna system with a plurality of fixed location antennas each defined by a set of location data associated with a specific deployment position. The surveying system also has a computing device with a data processor and a display screen. A communications module establishes a data transfer link with the restricted antenna system over which spatial data for distances between current positions of the computing device and one or more of the plurality of fixed location antennas are received. The computing device is loadable with project drawings corresponding to the construction site and displayable on the display screen. A position marker is overlaid on the display of the project drawing at a position thereon corresponding to a computing device location value derived from the spatial data and the location data of one or more of the fixed location antennas.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/700,367, filed Sep. 11, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,345,453, issuedJul. 9, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/815,820, filed Jul. 31, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,846,242, issuedDec. 19, 2017, which relates to and claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/032,194, filed Aug. 1, 2014 and entitledRESTRICTED CONTROLLED SURVEYING NAVIGATION SYSTEM and U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/032,223, filed Aug. 1, 2014 and entitled CONSTRUCTIONDRAWING NAVIGATION SYSTEM, the entirety of both disclosures of which arehereby wholly incorporated by reference herein.

STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to surveying systems. Moreparticularly, the present disclosure relates to surveying andconstruction drawing navigation systems that may utilize a restrictedantenna system and a Global Positioning System (GPS)-enabled handhelddevice to spatially locate the device within a planned site, with theconstruction drawings displayed on the device.

2. Related Art

Surveying is the technique of accurately determining thethree-dimensional position of points and the distances and anglesbetween them, utilizing in part geometry and trigonometry. In surveying,various kinds of surveying instruments, such as theodolites or totalstations, are commonly used for measuring distances and/or angles ofobjects. Conventionally, these surveying instruments are mounted on astand to stably position the surveying instrument on the ground and havea head that may be moved with respected to the stand. The head generallyincludes an optical device, such as a ranging or sighting device forfocusing on an object.

Typically, construction drawings are made up of a site layout plan and afloor plan, which will contain gridlines for the desired dimensions ofthe construction. In order to establish the gridlines at theconstruction site, a surveying team will take a government land surveyplan featuring true coordinate control points, will establish controlpoints at the construction site, and will then proceed to set out thegridlines at the construction site. This is typically achieved by onesurveyor manning a total station at a known given point, or “monument,”and at least one additional surveyor manning a target and physicallymoving the target into sight of the total station at set locations toestablish the gridlines. This method, however, can be cumbersome in thatit requires a team of skilled surveyors to man the total station and thetargets to physically mark the control lines.

Improvements to this method are known in the art, for example, totalstations now allow for the construction drawings to be loaded directlyinto the total station, thereby having the points and elevationscontained within the system to speed up and simplify the process oftargeting the specific points. However, even with this improvement ateam of surveyors is still needed to man the total station and tophysically move the target around the construction site.

Further improvements known in the art include remotely controlled totalstations, wherein a single surveyor may remotely operate the totalstation while moving the target from location to location and viewingthe sight of the total station via a remote viewing device. However,this still requires a skilled surveyor to operate the total station andmove the target from point to point.

Regardless of the improvements described above, laying out the controlpoints and gridlines is time consuming and inefficient. In particular,laying out the control points and gridlines must be performed numeroustimes during construction. At the very least, each subcontractor mustperform their own laying out of control points and gridlines to properlyperform their services. Further, the gridlines can be disturbed duringconstruction and/or during periods of inactivity (such as overnightperiods between construction). As such, the laying out of gridlines andcontrol points may need to be performed as often as daily. Accordingly,it can be seen that this repetition of laying out the gridlines andcontrol points is a point of inefficiency in the construction process.

As such, there is a need for an improved surveying system that allowsfor users to quickly and easily locate themselves within the site, andfor the one time establishment of site construction control points in anefficient manner without the need to repeat the process frequently.Additionally, there is a need for a system to graphically locate a userof the system within the site and to visually display the location inrelation to the site layout plan or the floor plan of the intendedconstruction.

BRIEF SUMMARY

One embodiment of the present disclosure is a surveying navigationsystem having a restricted antenna system in communication with acomputing device. The restricted antenna system may be comprised of aplurality of fixed location antennas located on known coordinates. Bylocating the fixed location antennas on known coordinates, the locationof the computing device can be precisely triangulated. The fixedlocation antennas may have GPS units integrated therein to allow forplacement at predetermined locations. Alternatively, the fixed locationantennas may be placed manually using standard surveying techniques inrelation to a monument on the site at a known location. For example, afirst one of the fixed location antennas may be placed directly at thesite of the monument, and the remaining fixed location antennas placedin relation to the first. Alternatively, all of the fixed locationantennas may be placed in relation to the monument. The fixed locationantennas may then communicate with each other to verify their placementand accurate distance from one another. Location data may also beobtained from GPS units that are integrated with the computing device.

The computing device may be loaded with drawings, such as standard CADor BIM files known in the art. A display on the computing device iscapable of rendering and displaying the drawing files that may containspecific site information, such as the site plan or floor plan. Theprecise location of the device, realized by triangulation of theposition of the device within the restricted antenna system, may then besuperimposed upon the display of the site information in a real-timefashion. Further, the size of the computing device would be accountedfor within its programming to precisely and accurately locate the devicewithin the site or floor plan. For example, the programming of thecomputing device would factor in whether the location device was aphone, or a tablet, or a dedicated location device for use with thesurveying navigation system, and the size of each device would beaddressed so that the end point of the display would precisely reflectits location.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the various embodimentsdisclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the followingdescription and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like partsthroughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting the various components of asurveying system in accordance with one embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 is a representation of a restricted antenna system utilized invarious embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting one aspect of the present disclosureinvolving the loading of project drawings on to a computing device;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting another aspect of the present disclosureinvolving the integration of the display of the project drawings withthe location of the computing device as reported thereto;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary screen capture of the project drawing overlaidwith a navigation marker and distance legends;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary screen capture of an interface for selectingdifferent project drawings to be rendered on the computing device;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart depicting an aspect of the present disclosureinvolving the capture and reporting of location data;

FIG. 8 is an exemplary screen capture of a menu interface showing thedifferent functions that may be implemented on the computing device ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is an exemplary screen capture of a project management userinterface; and

FIG. 10 is an exemplary screen capture of a project drawing and locationdata pairing and synchronization setup interface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below is intended as a description ofthe presently preferred embodiment of the disclosure, and is notintended to represent the only form in which the present invention maybe constructed or utilized. The description sets forth the functions andsequences of steps for constructing and operating the invention. It isto be understood, however, that the same or equivalent functions andsequences may be accomplished by different embodiments and that they arealso intended to be encompassed within the scope of the invention.

The block diagram of FIG. 1 is of one embodiment of a surveying system10 according to the present disclosure. The surveying system 10 isunderstood to include a computing device 12 that is portable and readilycarried by a single user. As will be described in further detail below,the computing device 12 is capable of displaying the location within aconstruction site at which the computing device 12 is positioned,together with architectural drawings and schematics that aidconstruction personnel.

It is contemplated that the computing device 12 is a standard generalpurpose, consumer-level mobile device such as a cellular phone or atablet. In this regard, the computing device 12 may have a dataprocessor that can execute pre-programmed instructions that, amongothers, implement the methods contemplated by the present disclosure.Furthermore, the computing device 12 may have a memory to store thesepre-programmed instructions, along with various data pertaining to theconstruction site. The data processor may also execute the instructionscomprising a device operating system that manages the various input andoutput functions. In this regard, the computing device 12 may have adisplay unit that is combined with a touch screen overlaid thereon. Auser may interact with various graphic elements generated on the displayunit with the touch screen to invoke functions corresponding to thosegraphic elements. Some implementations of the present disclosure alsocontemplate user interfaces that provide useful data to constructionpersonnel, and those interfaces will be described in further detailbelow. Notwithstanding the use of a conventional mobile device for thecomputing device 12, it is also contemplated that specialized ordedicated devices incorporating only those features of the presentdisclosure can be utilized.

In various embodiments, the computing device 12 receives location data14, which may be generated by an on-board GPS module 16 and/or by arestricted antenna system (RAS) 18. According to one embodiment, thelocation data 14 is used to locate the computing device 12 spatiallywithin an accuracy range of fifteen feet to less than one inch.

With reference to the diagram of FIG. 2, a restricted antenna system 18is made up of a plurality of fixed location antennas located on site atspecific coordinates. Typically, a minimum of three fixed locationantennas will be required to triangulate the location of the computingdevice 12 precisely. However, in certain situations fewer than three, ormore than three, fixed location antennas may be utilized in therestricted antenna system. For example, when construction of a mostlysquare or rectangular shaped building is contemplated, the restrictedantenna system 18 may utilize four fixed location antennas 20 a, 20 b,20 c, and 20 d placed outside of the four corners of the intendedbuilding site 22. By locating the fixed location antennas 20 on knowncoordinates, the location of the computing device 12 can be preciselytriangulated.

The fixed location antennas 20 may be placed at previously knownlandmarks or coordinates, via conventional surveying methods, or via theuse of GPS coordinates. In order to provide the greatest accuracy, it isenvisioned that at least three, and preferably four, fixed locationantennas 20 are placed on known coordinates. The fixed location antennas20 may have onboard GPS devices to allow for their precise locationdetermination. The onboard GPS devices may be capable of determininglocation within an accuracy range fifteen feet to less than one inch.

Alternatively, the fixed location antennas 20 may be placed manuallyusing standard surveying techniques in relation to a monument 24 on thesite at a known location. For example, a first one of the fixed locationantennas 20 a may be placed directly at the site of the monument 24, andthe remaining fixed location antennas 20 b, 20 c, and 20 d placed inrelation to the first. All of the fixed location antennas 20 may beplaced in relation to the monument 24. The fixed location antennas 20may then communicate with each other to verify their placement andaccurate distance from one another. The fixed location antennas 20 areconfigured to communicate with (and transmit/receive data to and from)each other and the computing device 12 to accurately determine distanceand position in relation to each other to verify they are properlylocated. This communication may be achieved by conventionalcommunication methods, such as by radio frequency or any othercommunication means known within the art, for example, infrared,microwave, and/or ultrasonic communication.

A portable antenna 26 may be utilized to report the location data 14 tothe computing device 12 from the restricted antenna system 18. Thisportable antenna 26 may either improve the communication capabilities ofthe computing device 12 or may, for example when the computing device 12is a standard consumer level cellular phone or tablet, completelyprovide the communication capabilities with the restricted antennasystem 18. The portable antenna 26 may be a signal measuring devicecapable of receiving and/or transmitting data to and from the restrictedantenna system 18. The portable antenna 26 may be able to utilize knowncommunication modalities, such as radio frequency, infrared, microwave,or ultrasonic frequencies. It is contemplated that the portable antenna26 may communicate with the computing device 12 by way of a standardconnector cable, may be integrated into an external case form factorthat attaches directly to the computing device 12, or may evencommunicate with the computing device 12 by standard wireless protocolssuch as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or the like.

As indicated above, the data processor of the computing device 12 canexecute various pre-programmed instructions. It is expresslycontemplated that software applications separate from the aforementionedoperating system may also be loaded on to the computing device 12. Thesoftware application may be configured to retrieve project drawings 28from a remote source for storage on the computing device 12. The projectdrawings 28 may be standard computer aided design (CAD) files, buildinginformation modeling (BIM) files Portable Document Format (PDF) files,and so on, and is intended to encompass all types of graphics data,including two-dimensional data and three-dimensional data that can berendered by the computing device 12. By way of example only and not oflimitation, the content of the graphics data, that is, the projectdrawings 28, may be architectural design software files containingspecific site information, such as the site plan or floor plan,renderings of intended construction, and so forth.

The project drawings 28 can be transferred to the computing device 12over a communications system 30. As depicted in FIG. 1, thecommunications system 30 is intended to encompass the wireless datanetworking components incorporated into the computing device 12, and thedata networking components of the source of the project drawings 28,along with any intermediate data transfer connections between suchcomponents.

With reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3, the specific steps involvedin loading the project drawings 28 on to the computing device isdisclosed. In accordance with one embodiment, this procedure may takeplace on one of an app 36 being executed on the computing device 12, anarchitectural plan software 38 running in a conventional desktopcomputing environment, or a web-based application that is accessible viaa website 40. The app 36, the architectural plan software 38, or thewebsite 40 accepts the project drawings 28, and to the extent necessaryfor the particular file format of the received project drawings 28, itmay be converted into a universal format according to a step 200. In oneembodiment, the universal format may be the aforementioned PDF format.The scale utilized in the project drawings 28 (with respect toreal-world measurements) is typically encoded within the file itself,and is understood to be variable. Thus, in a step 210, the specificscale set forth in the project drawings 28 is converted or otherwisematched to a common scale.

The converted and scale-adjusted project drawings 28 are then sent to aremote, hosted central server in accordance with a step 220, and storedin a database per step 224. The transmission of the project drawings 28to the central server may be by way of a wireless data transfer modality(such as Wifi) or a wired data transfer modality, or a combination ofboth. Any appropriate data transfer modality may be utilized withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. From the database,the computing device 12 may generate a query for a specific one of theproject drawings 28 for retrieval.

Referring again to the block diagram of FIG. 1, In accordance with thepresent disclosure, the computing device 12 renders the selected projectdrawings 28, and the specific location within the site as designated bythe location data 14 is overlaid 32 and aligned to the project drawing28. As a result, the user/construction personnel is able to determinethe specific location at the construction site, and accuratemeasurements to field 34 are possible. The computing device 12 isunderstood to be capable of factoring in its size, such that the endpoint of the display on the computing device 12 would precisely reflectits location within the project drawings presented on the display.

The flowchart of FIG. 4 depicts the process of integrating the displayof the project drawings 28 with the location of the computing device 12as reported by the GPS module 16 or the RAS 18. The location data 14 andthe project drawings 28 stored on a central database 39 are understoodto be inputs to the app 36 that is running on the computing device 12.In a step 300, the user selects the particular project drawing 28 torender on the display of the computing device 12. In one implementationthe location data 14 from the GPS module 16 may be provided as alongitude/latitude data, and so it may be converted to Cartesiancoordinates (given in x, y, and z values) according to a step 310. Thisis understood to be separate and independent of the step 300, though itmay occur substantially contemporaneously. Thereafter, in a step 320,the app 36 integrates the reported location with the display of theselected project drawing 28 and generates an indicator at thecorresponding location on the display thereof. Thus, it is possible forthe user to find and view the precise location at which the computingdevice 12 is positioned in the physical world, relative to the samelocation on the project drawing 28 as rendered on the computing device12.

The screen capture of FIG. 5 represents an exemplary display of theproject drawing 28 overlaid with the location data 14 in an interface 29of the computing device 12. The project drawing 28 is of a greatlysimplified architectural site plan of the building site 22 that is arectangular basement defined by a perimeter wall 31 and surrounded by asidewalk. The numerical markers 40 a, 40 b correspond to the horizontalgridlines on the site plan, while the alphabetical markers 42 a, 42 bcorrespond to the vertical gridlines on the site plan. In accordancewith one embodiment, there is a navigation marker 44 that pinpoints thecurrent position of the computing device 12 relative to the buildingsite 22. So that the navigation marker 44 is readily ascertainable whenoverlaid on the project drawing 28, there may be an oversized circularoutline 45 a that draws the attention of the viewer/user. A teardropshaped marker element 45 b further highlights the navigation marker 44,while center crosshairs 45 c allow precise positioning of the computingdevice 12 to a physical feature within the building site 22. Theparticular visual configuration of the navigation marker 44 is presentedby way of example only, and any other suitable design may be substitutedwithout departing from the present disclosure.

Also included within the interface 29 are a set of vertical axisindicators 43 a, 43 b and horizontal axis indicators 47 a, 47 b.According to one embodiment, the navigation marker 44 may be moved bythe user to a desired location within the project drawing 28 as a targetposition for the computing device 12. The user then moves the computingdevice 12 to the marked location, and as it approaches the targetposition, the horizontal and vertical axis indicators 43, 47 may changecolor to indicate the degree of proximity. In this regard, thecrosshairs 45 c are understood to be overlaid on a position in theproject drawing 28 that corresponds to the physical location within thebuilding site 22 where the vertical axis indicators 43 and horizontalaxis indicators 47 physically intersect. It is understood that thecomputing device 12 is laid flat such that the x and y planes areparallel for a proper designation of the location, and to the extentthere is any degree of roll or yaw, opposing indicators 43 a, 43 b and47 a, 47 b are appropriately modified.

Also overlaid on the display of the project drawing 28 is a first legend46 that, by way of example, indicates the real distance between thehorizontal gridlines (x-axis), as well as between the vertical gridlines(y-axis). In a second legend 48, the detected elevation (z-axis) of thecomputing device 12 may be shown. Thus, as the computing device 12 ismoved about the building site 22, the information on the first legend 46is updated. Further, as the computing device 12 is moved up and downrelative to the ground, the information on the second legend 48 isupdated.

In the illustrated example, the project drawing 28 that is displayed isa single architectural site plan. It is expressly contemplated, however,that additional drawings likewise spatially coordinated with thephysical locations of the building site 22 may be presented on thedisplay of the computing device 12. The screen capture of FIG. 6 showsan interface 49 by which different layers/drawings can be selected forviewing, and is comprised of a plurality of activatable buttons 50corresponding to each such available project drawing 28. These othersubsets of project drawings 28 may include, for example, civilengineering drawings, structural drawings, electrical drawings, plumbingdrawings, mechanical drawings, fire control systems drawings,audio-visual wiring drawings, and landscape drawings. Referring again tothe screen capture of FIG. 5, the interface 49 may be invoked byselecting a page selection button 52, which indicates “A-1.00”,referring to architectural drawings, page 1.

As the computing device 12 is positioned at different locations aroundthe building site, the view of the project drawing 28 as well as that ofthe navigation marker 44 is understood to be updated. Referring now tothe flowchart of FIG. 7, additional details regarding the capture of thelocation data 14 will be described. Again, the computing device 12 mayobtain location data 14 from either the GPS module 16 or the restrictedantenna system 18.

Measurements from the RAS 18 are understood to be highly accurate, or atleast more accurate than the measurements from the GPS module 16. Insome embodiments, accuracy within ˜7 cm is understood to be possible.The RAS 18 is understood to be the most suitable for navigating theinterior of buildings, as GPS signals typically cannot penetrateceilings and walls. As shown in block 400, the distance to the computingdevice 12 is obtained using various wireless modalities from the fixedlocation antennas 20, including laser, lidar, and others known in theart. The distance information is transmitted to the computing device 12according to a block 400, where it is processed as described above.Although the RAS 18 may be utilized in the embodiments of the presentdisclosure, alternative positioning technologies such as GNSS (GlobalNavigation Satellite System) that employ various augmentation systems toenable location tracking in places where the satellite signals areunreachable may be substituted.

Measurements from the GPS module 16 are directly received on thecomputing device 12, and processed by the app 36. It may be possible toincrease the accuracy of the GPS location data by utilizing long datacollection, in accordance with a block 404. As will be recognized bythose having ordinary skill in the art, long data collection refers toobtaining multiple location data points within a predefined time period,such as 15 to 30 seconds. It is understood that accuracy of a quarterinch is possible, though with increased time requirements. Long datacollection extending one second, for example, may be capable ofachieving a location accuracy of around one foot, while long datacollection extending five seconds may be capable of achieving a locationaccuracy of around five feet.

In addition to the aforementioned interface for viewing and navigatingthe project drawings 28 as shown in FIG. 5 above, other features of theapp 36 are contemplated. The screen capture of FIG. 8 depicts a menuinterface 54 that also includes various activatable buttons 56 that maybe selected to initiate different procedures. The aforementioned screento navigate the project drawings 28 may be accessed by activating abutton 56 a.

As indicated above, it is possible to load and view multiple projectdrawings 28 from the computing device 12, and FIG. 9 illustrates oneexemplary implementation of a project management interface 58. Thisscreen may be accessed by activating a button 56 b. From this screen, anew “job” or collection of project drawings 28 may be defined, andaccordingly includes a text entry box 59 that accepts name entries forthe “job.” Furthermore, the drawing file type, one of a 3D/CAD file, aBIM file, or a direct capture from a 3D scanner, may be selected amongstbuttons 60 a-60 c. Additionally, the name of the layer to which theproject drawing 28 may be assigned can be defined via a text entry box62.

Before the computing device 12 is able to receive location data 14 fromthe RAS 18, a connection may be manually established between them. Byselecting a button 56 c, synchronization setup interface 64 as shown inFIG. 10 may be invoked. The first set of checkboxes 66 indicate whetherthe RAS 18 is paired with the computing device 12, that is, a whether adata communications connection has been established. The second set ofcheckboxes 68 indicate whether the view of the project drawings 28 aresynchronized with the location data 14 that is being transmitted to thecomputing device 12. Along these lines, connections to other surveyingdevices on board remotely controlled vehicles such as all-terrainrovers, quad-copters, and watercraft may also be established via themenu interface 54.

It is further contemplated that the app 36 loaded on to the computingdevice 12 may include additional features that utilize various hardwarecomponents of the computing device. For example, the application mayfurther include a “tape measure” component capable of calculating anddisplaying the distance between various points on the site. This tapemeasure component may utilize GPS information, accelerometer informationfrom the device, or calculating distances using camera information fromthe device. For example, the user may want to determine the distancebetween two points and set a start point in the application and thenwalk to a second point. The distance between the start point and thesecond point may be calculated by the application using the GPScoordinates of the two points. Alternatively, the application mayutilize accelerometer data from the device to determine the distancetravailed by the user to give a distance estimate, similar to apedometer. This accelerometer information may use the data and interpretit in comparison to a standard user or, for greater precision, the usermay input his height and/or other relevant information to give greaterprecision as to the distance of each step. This distance information maythen be displayed on the device.

The application may further include a “survey transit” component capableof showing the direction the computing device 12 is facing andcalculating angles and distances between points or items at the site.This survey transit component may utilize internal compass informationfrom the device, accelerometer information from the device, and/orcamera information from the device. For example, by utilizing compassinformation provided by the device, the app may visually display thecompass bearing. Further, the application may utilize accelerometer datafrom the device to calculate and display the elevation angle of thedevice. By utilizing this bearing information and elevation angleinformation, the application is capable of calculating and displayingangles and distances between points or items at the site. For example,the user of the device may point the device toward a point or object atthe site to which the angle or distance from a current location isneeded. The camera information of the device, in conjunction with thecompass and accelerometer information, may then be used to calculate thedistance to the desired point or object by standard trigonometric means.

Further the application may utilize the camera and display of the deviceto feature an augmented reality component, wherein the specific siteinformation from the project drawings 28, the tape measure, and/orsurvey transit features and information may be overlaid upon the siteusing known augmented reality methods. For example, the camerainformation from the computing device 12 may be displayed upon thedisplay screen to display the site surroundings in the direction thedevice is currently being pointed. Then, upon this camera information,specific site information (such as a floor plan) may be overlaid, alongwith bearing, elevation, distance to a point, and other relevantinformation calculated by the application. This allows the user of theapplication to see the intended construction overlaid directly upon thecurrent location at the site for general placement information.

The particulars shown herein are by way of example and for purposes ofillustrative discussion of the embodiments of the present disclosureonly and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to bethe most useful and readily understood description of the principles andconceptual aspects of the present disclosure. In this regard, no attemptis made to show details of these embodiments with more particularitythan is necessary for the fundamental understanding of the presentdisclosure, the description taken with the drawings making apparent tothose skilled in the art how the several forms of the present disclosuremay be embodied in practice.

What is claimed is:
 1. A surveying system for a construction site,comprising: a plurality of fixed location antennas at known positionsrelative to the construction site; and a computing device receptive tolocation data derived from communication of the computing device withthe plurality of fixed location antennas, the computing device includinga display screen and a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver; whereinthe computing device is operable to display one or more project drawingscorresponding to the construction site on the display screen with aposition marker corresponding to a current location of the computingdevice, the current location of the computing device being selectivelyderived from the location data or from a signal received by the GPSreceiver.
 2. The surveying system of claim 1, wherein the computingdevice is operable to adjust the display of the one or more projectdrawings in response to a change in position of the computing device. 3.The surveying system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of fixed locationantennas includes three or more fixed location antennas.
 4. Thesurveying system of claim 1, wherein the computing device is a handhelddevice.
 5. The surveying system of claim 4, wherein the computing deviceis a cellular phone.
 6. The surveying system of claim 4, wherein thecomputing device is a tablet.
 7. The surveying system of claim 1,wherein the communication of the computing device with the plurality offixed location antennas comprises radio frequency communication.
 8. Thesurveying system of claim 1, wherein the location data is derived from adistance to the computing device from the plurality of fixed locationantennas obtained using a laser.
 9. The surveying system of claim 1,wherein the location data is derived from a distance to the computingdevice from the plurality of fixed location antennas obtained usinglidar.
 10. The surveying system of claim 1, wherein the location data isfurther derived from a signal received by one or more on-board GPSreceivers of the plurality of fixed location antennas.
 11. The surveyingsystem of claim 1, wherein the computing device communicates with theplurality of fixed location antennas via a portable antenna module incommunication with the computing device.
 12. The surveying system ofclaim 11, wherein the portable antenna module includes an antennareceptive to signals from at least one of the plurality of fixedlocation antennas and a measuring device that derives the location databased upon distances to one or more of the fixed location antennas, thelocation data being transmitted to the computing device.
 13. Thesurveying system of claim 11, wherein the portable antenna module isintegrated into an external case of the computing device.
 14. Thesurveying system of claim 1, wherein the one or more project drawingsare in a universal format.
 15. The surveying system of claim 14, whereinthe universal format is a Portable Document Format (PDF).
 16. Acomputing device for use in a surveying system for a construction site,the computing device comprising: a display screen; and a globalpositioning system (GPS) receiver; wherein the computing device isreceptive to location data derived from communication of the computingdevice with a plurality of fixed location antennas at known positionsrelative to the construction site, the computing device being operableto display one or more project drawings corresponding to theconstruction site on the display screen with a position markercorresponding to a current location of the computing device, the currentlocation of the computing device being selectively derived from thelocation data or from a signal received by the GPS receiver.
 17. Amethod of navigating a construction site with a computing device, themethod comprising: receiving location data derived from communication ofthe computing device with a plurality of fixed location antennas atknown positions relative to the construction site; selectively derivinga current location of the computing device from the location data orfrom a signal received by a GPS receiver of the computing device; anddisplaying, on the computing device, one or more project drawingscorresponding to the construction site with a position markercorresponding to the selectively derived current location of thecomputing device.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprisingadjusting the position marker in response to a change in the currentposition of the computing device within the construction site.
 19. Themethod of claim 17, further comprising deriving a distance valuerepresentative of a distance between at least one of the fixed locationantennas and the computing device within the construction site.
 20. Themethod of claim 19, further comprising converting the distance value toa set of coordinates corresponding to the current position of thecomputing device.
 21. The method of claim 17, further comprisingconverting longitude/latitude data of a set of coordinates correspondingto the current position of the computing device within the constructionsite to Cartesian coordinates indexed to the one or more projectdrawings.
 22. The method of claim 16, further comprising: derivingmultiple sets of coordinates corresponding to the current position ofthe computing device over a predefined time period; and generating anaverage of the multiple sets of coordinates.